'Page One' looks at future of professional newsgathering

Sunday

?These days when an editor yells, “Stop the presses!” it doesn’t necessarily mean a major story is breaking.

It could mean a newspaper is closing.

With “Page One: Inside the New York Times,” Andrew Rossi directs a fascinating look at the future of professional newsgathering in a world where anyone with a computer can become a blogger.

Rossi received unprecedented access to the New York Times‘ newsroom and media desk for a year.

During those months, the newspaper was going through changes and layoffs, as well as questioning whether to team with sites such as WikiLeaks.

“It took me six months of discussions to get the access (to the Times),” Rossi says by phone during a Philadelphia publicity stop for the R-rated “Page One,” which opens July 1. “One of the things that served the relationship of trust, which is essential, is that I worked by myself inside the Times building with one camera.

“I would film staffers working in their cubicles for hours. I have newfound respect for these ordinary folks in an extraordinary situation where their jobs are threatened.”

For Rossi, journalism now ranks as a work-in-progress. Traditional delivery methods have been challenged and will change, but there remains a great hunger for news that will need to be satisfied.

“Many people have a romance with the print edition of newspapers,” says the 37-year-old New York filmmaker, who previously directed the HBO documentary “Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven.” “I do think that the iron-core of news — journalism at a high level — has survived.

“I don’t think we need to worry about the delivery platform, whether it’s newsprint or online.”

News junkies should be particularly delighted by Rossi’s use of brilliant NYT staffer David Carr as the voice of reason when it comes to the new online platforms that claim to be journalistically sound but lift much of their content from — you guessed it — traditional print outlets with no attribution.

“Dave Carr is someone who can carry a film,” says Rossi, who compared the animated and compelling Carr to a “movie star.” “He shines due to his inability not to accept bull from anyone.”

FESTIVAL REVEALS SOME TITLES

The organizers of the 2011 second annual New Hope Film Festival have raised the curtain on some titles being screened at this year’s event, which will run from July 8 through 17.

The celebration of cinema will feature 89 films from 21 countries, with many U.S. and world premieres.

The titles coming soon to the event in Bucks County include:

“Among Us,” a Swedish feature about a couple whose view of each other and their well-ordered world changes after an accident. Johan Brisinger directed.

“The World’s Tallest Man: Still Growing,” a documentary on Sultan Kosen, an 8-foot-1 man who embarks on a journey in search of love. Stuart Clark, who resides in the United Kingdom and Turkey, directed.

“Buriganga,” a short film about five lives that revolve around the Buriganga River beside Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Michelle Coomber, who resides in the United Kingdom and India, directed.

“The Forgery,” a student short film that’s set from the 1920s through the ‘50s and reveals how an artist employs outdated techniques and uses them to become a master forger. American filmmaker Gabriella Loutfi directed.

The website, which details the online program guide, as well as tickets, prices and showtimes, can be found at www.newhopefilmfestival.com.

Advance tickets are less expensive and, perhaps more importantly, guarantee a seat. All movies will be screened at the New Hope Arts Center and New Hope-Solebury High School’s Stephen J. Buck Memorial Theater.

MUPPETS BACK ON THE BIG SCREEN

For those keeping count, 11 years have gone by since Kermit and his friends have been seen on the big screen.

They will be joined by Jason Segel (who also co-wrote the script), Amy Adams and Chris Cooper in a family adventure about an opportunistic tycoon with plans to raze the Muppet Theater and drill beneath it for oil. The building can only be saved via a campaign to raise $10 million.

James Bobin (HBO’s “The Flight of the Concords”) will direct.

MADONNA GOES BEHIND CAMERA

Madonna will take off her dancing shoes and settle into a director’s chair for the romantic drama “W.E.,” which marks her filmmaking debut.

Abbie Cornish (“Limitless”) stars in the story that spans six decades and juxtaposes a contemporary love affair with the romance between King Edward VIII and American divorcée Wallis Simpson.

Madonna also co-wrote the script for “W.E.,” which in a news release she described as “about the nature of true love, and the sacrifices and compromises that are often made.”

Lou Gaul: 609-871-8055; email, lgaul@phillyBurbs.com

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